Disc brakes which have been designed for use in motorcycles and the like are ordinarily arranged with means for engaging bearing discs that are mounted radially with respect to the hub of the wheel on portions of the wheel to which the struts or spokes are secured. While such arrangements do not interfere with the mounting of disc brakes on the front wheel of motorcycles, substantial problems have been encountered when the prior art disc brake constructions have been adapted for the rear wheel. Generally, the rear wheels of motorcycles have drive sprockets and other attachments mounted on them. These devices occupy the space which interferes with the mounting of a conventional disc brake. For that reason, disc brakes on the rear wheel of a motorcycle have been generally confined to an arrangement in which the brake is secured to one side only of the hub. This necessary arrangement results in inefficient and occasionally dangerous operation because of the undesirable torques that are created on the application of braking forces to one side only on the wheel. In addition, where front and rear disc brakes are used, it has been conventional to use separate controls for each of the brakes in order to properly balance the braking action. Such separate controls are required because of the imbalances created with a rear disc brake that is applied to one side only of a wheel. Moreover, disc brakes heretofore used are not easy to adjust or maintain in a satisfactory operating condition. In addition, currently available disc brakes provide brake linings that have size limitations controlled by rear wheel mounting problems.